Written Mystery
by Dravinia
Summary: A mysterious letter was found in Harry's bag, giving him six days to search for the anonymous writer. One by one of his loved ones began to disappear and can Harry seek the identity of the mysteroius writer before it's too late? R & R, thanks!
1. The First Letter

The First Letter  
  
Harry opened the sparkly red envelope with his name on it and found a poem. He read it out loud,  
  
" Every night, the stars leave a trail of luminous light, The sparkles and shine brightens your exquisite face, Find me before the sixth day of the night, Before your loved ones go out of trace."  
  
He stopped reading and turned to face his friends. His face bore an expression of amazement and fear.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Who sent me this? Is this person serious?"  
  
Hermione and Ron just stood there with heavy frowns on their faces. "Harry, if we had known who wrote you that letter, we wouldn't be this worried. Now with Voldemort out and the Triwizard incident, you have to take this seriously. You must report to Dumbledore quick." Hermione said seriously.  
  
But Ron intervened, " Dumbledore? Oh come on 'Mione, this letter could have been written by one of Harry's fans. I mean, didn't he just get like, three dozens of fan letters delivered to him last week? But then again, the last line bothers me a lot. "Before your loved ones go out of trace?" Is this another Triwizard task?"  
  
Hermione glared. "Oh you dimwit. The Triwizard Championship ended a long time ago. By the way, all of Harry's fan letters are delivered by Hedwig. This particular one was found in his bag!"  
  
"Well yeah..but.."  
  
Hermione and Ron started to bicker loudly. Harry sighed. Why do his friends always have to squabble at times like this? He started walking away.  
  
Ron and Hermione stopped their fight and looked at Harry. "Harry! Are you going to Dumbledore's office?" Harry shrugged. "Maybe later. I'm off to the Gryffindor's common room to rest." Hermione let out a frustrated snort. Ron grinned widely and ran to catch up with Harry.  
  
Harry's room was illuminated with a silvery white radiance. A bright figure stood beside Harry's bed and the white light woke him up. He quickly put on his spectacles and squinted. "Who.who.are you?" The white figure smiled. A small hand stroked his face and as Harry squinted harder, he could make out a very beautiful face, framed by long, straight, silvery hair. Oh, Harry thought, it's a she. He felt faint and was intoxicated by the sight of the beautiful girl. The girl looked familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Harry, I love you.Please don't tell anyone about that letter. I wrote it. I love you Harry, Harry, promise me please. Don't tell anyone." The girl bent down and kissed Harry on his cheek. Harry was just going to repeat his last question when he woke up with a start. Ron was looking at him with a big grin on his face. "Now, now. With that silly smile on your face, someone had a great dream last night. Care to tell me about it?" Harry grinned back. He told Ron about the dream. Ron goggled. "Wow. I wish I had a dream like that. I mean, just imagine if Fleur Delacour.." Ron wasn't able to finish his sentence because Neville interrupted him. "Hey Harry, Ron. Why aren't you guys dressed yet? Are you guys planning to skip Snape's class?" Both of them looked at the watch at Harry's bedside. Ten minutes before their Potions class. Ron and Harry jumped up and ran to the bathroom.  
  
  
  
They were just in time to Snape's class. Hermione was waiting for them in front of the dungeon.  
  
"You were late. Thank God Snape isn't here yet. If he was, he would have deducted more marks from Gryffindor."  
  
Ron answered back but Harry was already walking to his seat and was too far to hear his retort. The girl in his dream was still in his mind and he was trying quite hard to recall her familiar face. Who does she remind him of? As he absentmindedly walked to his desk, he bumped into Draco Malfoy, who dropped his wand.  
  
"Why Potter, isn't four eyes good enough for you to see me? Need another four?" His remark was greeted by much laughter from the Slytherin crowd. Draco bent down to pick up his dropped wand.  
  
"Sorry to ruin your fantasy, Malfoy, but I'd rather be blind than see your face anytime."  
  
Ron and Hermione plus a number of other Gryffindors laughed. Draco's face turned red and he glared at Harry. He brushed past Harry and got to his seat beside Crabbe and Doyle. They were still chuckling as they walked to their seats.  
  
  
  
"Weird, where's Snape? He's never been late before." Hermione pondered.  
  
"Well, I hope he's dead or was cursed in his bed. Wait, maybe he has fled to You-Know-Who."  
  
Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore trusted him, Ron. So should we. No matter how slimy that old bat was, he would never go back to Voldemort. Anyway Ron, I forgot to mention this, but that girl in my dream looked kind of familiar. Like I've seen her before."  
  
Hermione looked interested. "What girl in your dream?"  
  
"Harry had this dream last night where this beautiful girl confessed to him that she was the writer of the mysterious letter." Ron explained. "Oh, and she kissed him too.." He continued with a wink.  
  
Hermione frowned. "But that couldn't be possible.I mean."  
  
She stopped short when Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw prefect [and Harry's crush] entered their class. Harry sat up straight and gave a wide smile at Cho. She smiled back. "I've brought bad news. Professor Snape isn't able to come to class as he has an important mission with Professor Dumbledore at Hogsmeade." She stopped when the students cheered. She gave a little laugh. "But that's not all. He gave you some work to do while he's not here. Do open your Potions book to page 36 and prepare the recipe to the Forgetful potion. You will have to submit it next week." Groans were heard in the room.  
  
Cho shrugged. "Sorry for that. Well, good luck to all of you." She walked out and on the way, winked at Harry, who turned red.  
  
Hermione was busy writing on her parchment. "Forgetful potion. I've read on that last month. Aah, that's easy. Abyssinian shrivelfig, essence of belladonna, black beetle eyes, scarab beetles and fluxweed. Great. Can't wait to do it."  
  
Ron was rolling his eyes and rummaging in his bag. He got up and was waiting for Harry to pick up his bag when the room went dark.  
  
"Hey, who put out the fire?" someone shouted.  
  
Harry could feel warm breath on his neck. "Ron?" he whispered. The person or thing behind him had disappeared.  
  
Just then Hermione shouted: "Lumos Solarum!" and the room became bright again. Students were scattered everywhere. Harry caught Draco's eye and the blond boy sneered.  
  
"Scared Potter?" "You wish, Malfoy." Draco arrogantly strode out of the room accompanied by several Slytherins.  
  
Murmurs were heard as students pondered over the incident. Just then, Ben Renwick, a Hufflepuff prefect, appeared in front of the class. "Calm down now. A lightning spell backfired in one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes and caused all the fires to go out." He looked around and continued. "The problem has been fixed and everything's fine now. No need to panic. Well, got a class to catch, see you all later." He grinned and then vanished in a blink. Ron shrugged and went out of the room. Harry and Hermione followed him. They were walking quietly to the dining hall when a soft voice greeted their backs.  
  
  
  
"Eez that 'Arry Potter I see 'ere?"  
  
It was Fleur Delacour. Being a couple of inches taller and looking as beautiful as ever, she smiled warmly at the three friends. Ron who had a big crush on Fleur before, looked awestruck. Hermione just frowned. Harry looked a little surprised himself.  
  
"Fleur! What are you doing here at Hogwarts?" Fleur gave a little laugh, which sounded like tiny bells ringing. "Do you remember zee last time I told you that I want to work at 'ogwarts to improve my Eenglish? Well I am 'ere now. As Professor Trelawny's assistant." She beamed.  
  
Ron widened his eyes. "That's great! O,er." He blushed. "What I mean is, good for you."  
  
Harry nodded. "Yeah, good for you Fleur. But why Divination?" "Ooh..I find reading zee future very interesting. I seem to find you interesting too, 'Arry."  
  
Hearing this, both Ron and Hermione scowled.  
  
Fleur was busy flirting with Harry when she looked up and stopped short. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Who eez zat handsome boy? He looks like he's half veela like me." All eyes turned to the boy that Fleur was goggling at. It was Malfoy. Before any of them could answer, Fleur had turned away and was walking briskly towards Draco.  
  
"Oh gag me with a spoon, Ron. Malfoy? Handsome?" Harry pretended to puke. Hermione, who had been quiet all the time, suddenly burst out: "Well I guess that's the only one thing that me and Fleur have in common."  
  
Harry choked. Ron looked dark. "C'mon Mione, why has your taste in men sunk so low?"  
  
Hermione turned sharply to Harry. "At least I would never sink so low as to ignore my friends whenever a cute guy talked to me." She snapped. Then she stepped away from Harry and Ron and disappeared into the dining hall. Ron sighed.  
  
"What now Harry? Why is it always you who gets all the attention? All the girls are attracted to you like moths to fire. Now Hermione has fallen under your spell too." He sighed. "Why can't I be like you?  
  
Harry was aghast. "RON!" He shouted. "I would willingly trade places with you anytime. At least I'll then have a normal life. And no more worries of Voldermort chasing me down and killing me. Plus I will actually have a loving family with parents who are alive and siblings to play with. By the way, Hermione thinks Malfoy is handsome, not me."  
  
Ron looked embarrassed. He looked down at his shoes and quietly apologised to his best friend. "Sorry Harry. I was just.No..forget about it. Fighting with you about Fleur is not worth it. She's not worth it." Ron put his arm around Harry. "One thing, Harry. Hermione does like you. She told me that when she came to my house last summer. I daren't tell Ginny. She would be so disappointed to have Hermione as a new rival." Harry breathed in deeply. "That cannot be true." He whispered. Ron grinned. "Unfortunately or fortunately, depends on the situation, it is true. You are now officially Hogwarts' number one idol."  
  
  
  
Harry looked around at the students piling into the dining hall. He saw Fleur who was tagging behind Draco and his Slytherin entourage. Pansy Parkinson was glaring at Fleur like she was toad's liver. Harry saw Hermione sitting with Lavender and Parvatil at the Gryffindor table. She glanced up and caught Harry's eye. She looked away. Harry went out of the hall. Ron followed him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder.  
  
"Don't you want to eat breakfast Harry?" Ron asked. "No, that's okay. Why don't you go and eat, I'll be in my room if you want to find me." "Okay. I'll sneak you a toast and some sausages. You'll be fine, won't you?"  
  
Harry nodded. Then he walked slowly back to his room, his mind filled with problems, problems that he had never encountered before: girl problems. Hermione, how can that be? He had never thought that one of his best friends had a crush on him. He admitted that he liked Hermione, but not in that sense, well, probably not yet anyway. For now, he had fallen for the girl in his dreams. Who is she? Is she for real or just a figment of his imagination? A delusion created by his raging hormones.  
  
Harry made his way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and was greeted by the portrait of the fat lady.  
  
"Hello Harry dear. My, my, don't you look awful. Having loads of problems? " Harry shrugged. "Sort of. Anyway, the password is Winklewinks." The fat lady smiled and swung forward. "You take care of yourself, okay?"  
  
  
  
Harry thanked her and climbed in. Once inside he went up to his room and landed on the bed. His stomach grumbled as he had not eaten his breakfast yet. As he closed his eyes he heard a loud crash outside his room. Ron appeared, gasping for breath.  
  
"Phew, it's pretty hard to climb up to the seventh floor when your stomach is full. Anyway, I've brought you some toast and sausages like I promised."  
  
Harry grinned and gobbled the meal up. The food tasted great eventhough the toast was a little soggy. He thanked Ron profusely with his mouth still full.  
  
Ron gave a broad smile and sat on Harry's bed. "This girl, Emma Watty and a couple of other girls at the Gryffindor table kept asking me about your whereabouts." He mimicked Emma's shrill voice. "Where's Harry? Why isn't he here? Is he alright? Is he sick? What happened to him? Poor Harry." Both of them laughed. Harry suddenly became quiet. "How was Hermione? Is she still mad at me? "Well, she wasn't speaking to me so I assumed that she's still mad at both of us. She didn't ask about your whereabouts too. But don't worry. I am very sure that she still cares about you."  
  
Harry sighed and stood up. He put on his robe and began to prepare for his next class, Charms with Professor Flitwick. Ron did the same and both of them walked out of their room.  
  
Both of them walked slowly to class when a tiny voice called Harry. It was Ginny Weasley.  
  
"I think this is yours. It was dropped from your bag." She handed Harry a shiny red envelope.  
  
Harry and Ron were surprised. "Uh, thanks Ginny." He took the letter from Ginny, who trembled when her hand touched Harry's.  
  
"Well, got to go. I'm going to be late for my Muggle studies class. See you later big brother, bye Harry."  
  
Harry and Ron said their goodbyes as Harry opened the second letter. In it was another poem. 


	2. The Disappearence

Chapter Two- The Disappearence

Hermione walked slowly out of the library and to her Charms class. She winced at the pain her heart is feeling.

If only Harry knew the ache she felt whenever he talked or flirted with every girl he had met. It's so hard to be crushing on the most popular wizard in the school. Especially when he is your best friend. Ron, Ron was always supportive towards her but he's like a brother to her. She knew that life is not always about studies and books, if only it were so, she would be spared from all this pain and confusion.

She hummed a song that she had heard on radio back at home. The lyrics of the song seemed to parallel her feeling, the pain and the ache in her heart. 

Whilst she was walking down the dark corridor to her Charms class, she heard a faint sound behind her. She turned around. 

"Ron? Harry? Is that you?" she called. 

She was just about to pull her wand out of her bag when she suddenly felt dizzy and dropped the books that she was holding. She collapsed into the darkness.

****

The goddess Epona once befriended a beautiful white mare,

Its mane is so white, luminescence as a trail of bright light,

My identity wasn't yet revealed, so do beware,

Today your first loved one will be out of sight. 

Harry finished reading the letter and gave it to Ron, who quickly scanned it. Both boys looked at each other and frowned. Harry read the poem again and thought out loud:

"Does that girl want me to look for her? If it's the girl in the dream, she had revealed herself to me, so it mustn't be her.. But then who" 

Ron interrupted.

"Maybe she wants you to find out who she is. What's her name, her identity, why she sent you those letters et al. But then again Harry, the letter writer could be a he. I mean, we don't really know that person's gender, do we?"

Harry was quiet. He absentmindedly fingered the green lining around the letter.

"I think I'd better write to Sirius about this. Oh, we are late for Charms. Let's get going."

****

At Charms class, Professor Flitwick was droning on about the history of the Reverse Incantation when they entered. Flitwick immediately stopped his lectures and frowned at the two boys.

"Potter and Weasley, you are twenty minutes late. Do hurry to your seats and open your "History of Incantations" book by Alexander Legre to page five. I'm not taking any points off Gryffindor this time, but don't be late again."

The teenagers nodded and scurried off to their seats. They frowned when they saw Hermione's empty seat. Silently Harry opened his Incantations book distractedly, his mind filled with worry. _Where is Mione? She can't be that mad to skip this class. She would never do that, she would rather wash Snape's greasy hair than miss a lesson._ He saw Ron writing furiously on his parchment. Ron looked at Harry and showed him what he had written.

Harry, where's Hermione? She would never miss a class.'

Harry took out his quill and wrote back.

I know, Ron! I'm worried. What is it that's so important? Something that's more important than class?'

HARRY! What if she's kidnapped?! You know, like what the poem said. _Today your first loved one will be out of sight. _What if that person had gotten her? She is your loved one, isn't she Harry? You do love her, even if as a friend'

Harry opened his mouth in a wide O. He gave a little gasp.

"Harry Potter? Is there something in this lesson that shocks you?" 

Harry jerked his face towards Professor Flitwick.

"Umm, nothing Professor. It was Ron. He accidentally stepped on my foot."

Ron nodded.

"Sorry, Professor. It was my fault."

Professor Flitwick shook his head and continued with the lesson.

Harry continued writing on the parchment.

Oh no, poor Mione. It's all my fault. Why does everything have to happen to me and the people closest to me? Ron, you had better stay away from me now on. I don't want to lose you too.'

Ron made a face as he read Harry's parchment. He wrote back furiously.

Harry, we are not even sure yet if Hermione's really been kidnapped. Who knows if she's still at the library, too engrossed in reading the Advanced Arithmancy' book that she's forgotten about this class. But then again, that couldn't be possibleAnyway, I've been your friend for four years, Harry. So far, I've been kidnapped by mermen, hit hard on the head by a large chess piece, chased by giant spiders *yuck*, trapped in a secret tunnel and I've escaped death so many times that it's uncountable. So why quit now? We'll seek that so-called poet even if it's the last thing that we do. Anyway, two heads are better than one. So count me in, Harry.

I'll go and ask Lavender about Mione after this. She should know about her whereabouts, she's her roommate.'

Ron pushed the parchment to Harry. Harry gave a meek smile to Ron and nodded grimly.

"Thanks buddy." He whispered. Ron gave Harry's hand a tiny pat. He winked at Harry and both of them turned their attentions toward the lesson.

****

"I'm sorry Ron. The last time I saw her was at the dining hall. That's when she told me she wanted to go to the library. Hmmyou should know where she is, I mean, you and Harry **are**her best friends."

Lavender looked at Ron pointedly.

If I knew where she is now, Lavender, I wouldn't be asking about it, Ron thought.

Lavender raised her eyebrows. 

Ron saw her putting on her gossip-hungry expression.

"Are you guys in a fight? And what about?"

Ron shook his head.

"Oh, we never fight Lavender. Even if we do, it's none of your business anyway. Well, thanks for your time, got to rush now, don't want to be late for Hogsmeade."

He ran off to Harry and left Lavender who snorted loudly in frustration.

****

Harry felt a terrible gnawing in his stomach. He walked slowly to the library when Ron stopped him.

"Harry, look! Why are these books on the floor?"

Ron bent down to pick the books up.

"The Secret of the Runes: A History of Arithmancy", "The Science of Magicology", "International Wizardry: Exploring Magic in the Asian Region". Hmmm..these look like something Hermione would read"

He opened the books and saw Hermione's name on the borrower's form. He breathed hard.

"It's Hermione's.Oh Harry, something must have happened to her!"

Harry closed his eyes.

"It's true then. Hermione was abducted." He suddenly felt a surge of anger in him. 

DAMN IT! It's all my fault! I should have gone to Dumbledore in the first place! His mind screamed. 

Ron tugged Harry's sleeve.

"C'mon Harry, let's go and write to Sirius."

Harry shook his head.

"No Ron, I want to go and see Dumbledore first."

Ron agreed and both of them ran fast to Dumbledore's office.

**** 

They met Madam Hooch on the way. She smiled at them.

"Hello boys. Going to see Dumbledore? Oh, you are five seconds too late. He's just left to go to a conference in Holland."

She looked at Harry.

"Harry, don't forget Quiddich practice tomorrow evening. Since you're captain now, you'd better make sure your team mates will be at the field at 5 pm sharp because Oliver Wood will be there specifically to help you coach your team."

Harry nodded sullenly.

Madam Hooch knitted her brows at the looks on the two boys face.

"Anything wrong boys? What's with the grim expressions?"

Both boys looked at each other and Harry spoke.

"Oh nothing's wrong. It's just that we are a feeling a bit edgy for the next Quiddich tournament. I mean, it's my first time as captain and Ron's first time as one of the beaters, so we are rather nervous."

Madam Hooch softened her expression. She smiled warmly at them.

"You have done well so far in the past, Harry, so I wouldn't worry too much. Ron, I've seen you play, you make such a fantastic beater, just like your brothers, Fred and George. *[[Ron blushed profusely at this]]* Luck is definitely on Gryffindor's side this year, so never fret. Just try your best and you will definitely ace it. Okay, see you boys at practice."

She walked away from them.

As she was out of hearing distance, both teens groaned out loud.

"Dumbledore's gone! Now what?" 

"Well, you had better write to Sirius then."

"I guess so"

****

At the Owlery, 

"Dear Sirius,

How are you? I hope you are perfectly fine. I don't want to bother you about this but you see, there's this big problem that I'm having. Yesterday I've found an anonymous letter telling me to find the writer within six days, or risk the safety of my friends if I don't. Today, I got another one saying one of my loved ones will disappear. Added to that, Hermione's gone now, Sirius. It's all my fault. Do you think Voldemort has anything to do with this? 

Anyway, I hope you would reply a.s.a.p. Thanks.

Your godson,

Harry.

Okay. Finished."

He gave the letter to Hedwig who flapped its wings excitedly. It's been awhile since he was asked to send a post. Harry patted Hedwig's head.

"Off you go, old boy. Find Sirius and comeback quickly okay?"

Hedwig clicked it's beak and flew off.

Harry rummaged through his bag and took out the red letter. He was still holding the letter when they were walking down the halls and bumped into Draco.

"Oh no, not you losers again. Can't a guy have a decent walk in here without bumping into rots like you two?"

Draco eyed the letter on Harry's hand cautiously.

"A letter from an admirer, Harry? You must get them everyday. There are probably mountains of them in your room. Just the perfect thing for an egocentric like you. By the way, where's your friend, the mudblood? Haven't seen her around lately."

Ron balled his fist.

"Shut up, Malfoy! You"

Harry interrupted him.

"What do you care, Malfoy. The world just evolves around you and you care about nobody else but yourself."

For a second, Harry swore he saw Draco looking kind of vulnerable. _That's weird_, Harry thought. But when he glanced again, Draco was wearing his usual haughty expression. Draco scorned them and walked away but before that he said something and Harry could barely make out his words but it sounded like,

"You are so wrong, Potter."

Harry looked forlornly at his nemesis's back. 

"You know Harry, Malfoy could have been the one who is sending you those letters. I mean, as a sick joke, you know."

"Nah..that couldn't be possible. He hates me too much to bother sending me all this." Harry said with a sigh.

A second later, Fleur appeared from the corner of the hall.

"Arry! Ave you seen Draco? Ee as been avoid" she stopped in mid sentence when she saw the red envelope on Harry's hand.

"Eez that yours?" she asked him.

Harry nodded.

Fleur fidgeted. She then walked away from them without a word.

Harry and Ron were dumbfounded.

Ron made a face.

"What in bloody hell's name is going on here?"

"I wish I knew, Ron."

As quick as lightning, Fleur ran back to Harry

"'Arry, you're in trouble. I was checking your future yesterday, in Professor Trelawney's crystal ball and I saw a red envelope, zat red envelope, morphing into zee image of zee hanged man. Arry, I saw death!"

Fleur was hyperventilating. Ron was busy calming her down. Harry, who was standing still, looked unruffled.

"Fleur, me and Ron have never believed any of that divination stuff. No offence really, but it's all just plain stupid. It's just a coincidence."

Ron, who was busy massaging Fleur's back, agreed. Fleur looked up at Harry sadly and shook her head.

"But eez true, Professor Trelawney told me someone's going to die zis yearI don't want it to be you."

"Professor Trelawney said that every year, Fleur. She predicted my death last year but look, I'm still here, alive and kicking but a bit worn up though."

Fleur smile thinly and stood up. She gave Ron a little hug.

"Thanks for calming me down. You're a nice boy." Ron beamed.

"'Arry, you take zee good care of yourself okay?"

Harry nodded. Fleur sighed and turned away.

"Uh Fleur?" Harry called.

Fleur turned around.

Harry pointed to the way Draco went.

"Draco went that way."

Fleur grinned and walked to the path Harry pointed.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shook their heads. 

****

At the Gryffindor's Common Room, Harry was sitting on the lounge, stroking Crookshanks who was purring loudly on Harry's lap.

"I wonder where did your mistress disappear to? It's been four hours now, and I haven't seen her since this morning."

Harry sighed.

"Crookshanks, I missed her. I really hope nothing bad has happened to her."

As if to comfort Harry's melancholy feeling, Crookshanks pawed him and licked Harry's hand.

Ron looked at the pair silently. Harry looked up and he saw Ron looking at him with a silly smile on his face. He smiled back. Ron continued his chess game with Lee Jordan.

The room was quiet for a minute, when suddenly Harry voiced out,

"Ron, I can't stand this anymore. It's really driving me crazy. Where is Hermione? What has happened to her? Why did she leave her books lying around on the floor? Ron!!"

Ron was surprised.

"Harry, relax. What about that girl in your dream? Don't you want to find her?"

Harry stood up. It was so sudden that Crookshanks was thrown off his lap. The cat hissed, hurt.

"Who **cares **about that girl! We are talking about Hermione here. Mione? Our best friend? I would trade in that girl for Hermione any time."

Ron was astounded. _Wow, he had never seen Harry this anxious and angry, okay, well except whenever Voldemort is involved._

"**That's great!**..uh..what I mean is..me too! I would trade in Fleur for her anytime."

Harry glared at him.

"What's with the casual attitude, Ron? Don't you even care about her? Doesn't she..."

Lee Jordan spoke up.

"Are you guys talking about Hermione? I think I saw her at McGonagall's office just now. She's there with Parvati."

Ron let out a huge breath of relief.

"See Harry? I told you to relax. She's probably still mad at us or something."

Harry was quiet. He then stalked off to his room to change into his Quiddich robes. Ron followed him.

"Harry, I'm sorry. It's not that I'm not worried, she's my best friend too, but it's just that she can take care of herself, you know. Just trust her."

"Nevermind, Ron. Gosh, I'm so tense lately.Especially after that Triwizard championship last year, with Cedric's dead and Voldemort emerging, everything happened so sudden. I need something to cheer me up."

Ron took out his Quiddich robe out of his closet.

"Well, we have Quddich. I know that would make you happy, even if it's temporary."

Harry grinned as he seized his Firebolt from under his bed.

"Quiddich. Yep, that will do. Ready pal? Let's hit the field."

Both boys smiled broadly as they walked out of their room and down for Quiddich practise.

****

Watching them at the far end of the field was a blond head, hungrily staring at every move that Harry's made.


	3. The Secret

Sorry for the ultra long delay. There's a bit of slash in this chapter, so if you are uncomfortable reading boy and boy action, please don't read this. Thank you. Chapter four will come soon. 

Thanks to all who reviewed. I dedicate this to you guys.

**Chapter Three** : The Secret

Ron was worried. _Where is Hermione? She can't disappear now._ After what they did, Ron felt a bit guilty for tricking Harry. They plotted this last summer when Hermione was staying at his house. Hermione confessed to Ron about her feelings towards Harry and he plotted a little plan for her to perform. At first, Hermione was reluctant but she soon agreed after much persuasion from him. "But won't that be like betraying Harry?" he remembered her asking. And being typical Hermione, she listed out a page of pros and cons of the conspiracy. There were more pros to it so she concluded the idea and agreed to be part of it. She wrote the poems silently in her room, in Ginny's room anyway, when the rest of the Weasleys were out playing Quiddich. Ginny was out to Diagon Alley with their mother to buy her favorite teen magazine, Cosmowitch. Ron took the task of putting the letter in Harry's bag. He did it successfully and Harry was now confused and determined to find the letter writer,whom he had grown to be a bit attached to. Maybe he'll start to love her soon. _They were very good actors_, Ron thought. The last line of poem, "Before your loved ones be out of trace" was just a joke. Ron added it to make the whole thing more intense. Nobody was supposed to disappear. The whole prank was supposed to end today, where she was supposed to give Harry the last letter, _but where is she?_ She should be here now.

Ron paced up and down the hallway to the dungeon. He was getting a bit restless.

"Ronald Weasley? What are you doing here near my office? Planning to steal some of my potions?"

Ron groaned silently. It was Snape.

"Uh… no… uh.. sorry Professor, but I was supposed to meet Hermione down here to discuss the homework that you had given the class last Monday. She will be here any second now."

Snape frowned.

"You haven't yet started doing my homework? I gave it to you **yesterday**. I'll have to take five points out of Gryffindor for that. Five points for procrastinating and another five for being down here without permission. So that will be ten points taken from Gryffindor."

Snape smiled slyly.

Ron was aghast.

"B-b-but that's not fair, Professor. I wasn't even..."

"Another ten for talking back to me so scoot before I take more points off your house."

Ron walked away from the dungeon, fuming.

_That slimy slug! He just wants to get back for what we did to him during that Sirius Black-Remus Lupin incident two years ago! No wonder Harry's father and gang hated him back then. He would too back then and how he hated him now!_

He was walking briskly up the stairs when he bumped into Dother Whittler, a second year Ravenclaw. They hit each other hard and Dother fell down. Ron offered his hand and helped the tiny boy up. Dother apologised generously.

"Sorry Ron! It's my fault really, I didn't see you coming up."

Ron shook his head.

"Don't apologize, Dother. It was my fault too.I was the one who was too busy climbing the stairs to see you walking down."

Dother shook his blond hair out of his eyes. Ron noticed that his blue eyes are twinkling.

_He is really cute, in a pretty boy kind of way. I mean look, he has whitish blond hair, very blue eyes, the colour of an azure sky, and he has very clear skin too... _Ron slapped himself up_. What was I thinking? Was I examining the lad? Ugh! What is wrong with me? I'm straight!_

Dother grinned.

"Well, nice seeing you Ron. I've got a class to catch. Potions with Professor Snape."

Ron grimaced.

"Snape the snake? Well, good luck. You will need it."

Dother laughed. He then sauntered down the stairs to the dungeon leaving Ron alone to think about the incident.

_Yes, I love girls. I do like girls. I like Fleur, for instance, and I used to have a teeny crush on Hermione before her I-love-Harry!He's-my-soulmate! confession. _

He shook his head_. I'm not thinking rather well now. With Hermione being late and that little incident with Snape…_

Ron was busy reassuring himself on his sexual preference when he saw Dean and Seamus, a couple of his friends from Gryffindor, walking. He walked up to them and all three went on their way to the Great Hall to eat their breakfast.

****

Hermione groaned. She hasn't eaten for a day now and she was really hungry and thirsty. Her hands were tied and her eyes were covered. She bristled when she heard footsteps coming to her.

"Well, well, look at the poor dear. All alone and shaking. Where are your friends now huh, Miss Granger? Are they here to rescue you now?"

Hermione frowned. _That voice, it sounded so familiar_.

She coughed back.

"I am not shaking and I am not scared of you either, whoever you are. My friends will come and rescue me soon and you'll soon regret your actions."

The man laughed.

"Ooh..someone's in denial now. Where's your beloved hero, the famous Harry Potter?"

"He will come! He always will."

The man laughed louder.

"Do you think I would stand here and wait for him to come and rescue you, dear? I'll be the one to catch him first. Oh, wait. Want to hear this?"

The mysterious man recited a poem. It was the poem that Hermione had written in her prank letter to Harry.

"Every night, the stars leave a trail of luminous light,

The sparkles and shine brightens your exquisite face,

Find me before the sixth day of the night,

Before your loved ones go out of trace._"_

Hermione gasped. She felt her bowels turning cold. The man laughed hard.

"Think I didn't know about that? I know everything, my dear. Soon, I will know much more when your little friend is captured. My master is waiting for him. After what he did to him last year, he deserves to die. Lord Voldermort reigns and he will be in power again **soon**."

He then uttered a curse, a leg locker curse.

"Locomotor mortis."

Hermione legs were tied.

"There. Now you can't run nor you can't hide. See you later, girlie."

Hermione was sobbing when the man walked out of the place and left her alone. This time she was really shivering.

****

Harry woke up to find another sparkly red letter down at the floor.

He summoned it up.

"Wingardium Laviosa."

He opened the letter quickly, anxious to find any clues leading to Hermione's disappearance. He found another poem.

" The rain falls as the unicorns gallop away,

Whilst the rainmunks and frogs come out to play,

Meet me at the stairs at the Astronomy Tower today,

Before your little friend waste away.

:. Be there at two am sharp! Bring no one, please. It's our special date!.:"

Harry was astounded. The whole thing was getting to be more sinister than ever. He glanced at Ron's bed and found him gone. Harry was worried. _Was Ron kidnapped too? _He quickly bathed and dressed up.

He found Ron at the dining hall, eating breakfast with Dean and Seamus.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry queried Ron, "You're up early. What's the occasion?"

Harry sat down in front of the boys and glanced sideways to see several girls staring adoringly at him.

Ron explained the fact that he can't sleep and didn't want to bother him so he went down to eat alone. He felt sick lying to his best friend.

Harry nodded. A girl, Emma Watty offered Harry a piece of caramel stick. Harry took one, thanking her.

"Harry, look, Hedwig's back with a post." Seamus pointed out.

Harry looked up to see Hedwig flying down towards him. The bird threw the post for Harry to catch and rested on Harry's shoulder. Harry gave his piece of caramel stick to him. Hedwig hooted appreciatively.

"Thanks girl. You did a job well done." Harry stroked his pet lovingly before sending him back to the owlery.

Harry opened Sirius's letter. Ron leaned closely to him.

"Dear Harry,

If I were you, I won't worry as much. That letter is probably written by one of your fans or something like that. Ron told me you've gotten mountains of fan mail in the past few weeks, eh, my boy? You are beginning to become more like your father. He was just as popular back then, and as handsome too. One of the [minor] reasons why Lily, your mother was attracted to him. Hermione gone? She was probably hiding in the toilet or something. You know how teenage girls are at that age. I think she is fine. Oh, I've just had a chat with Dumbledore yesterday at Hogsmeade, Harry. He told me everything was fine. The security around Hogwarts has been tightened, a new spell was fixed last week by Aurolius, one of Dumbledore's old friends. One of the greatest wizards of this time. Anyway, the spell would prevent outside wizards and witches to enter Hogwarts. Even if they are using a secret tunnel or a secret path. They would be electrified to death. So all students and staff are safe there. I was relieved to hear that Harry. Now I know you are safe for sure.

Well, got to go now. Take care of yourself and do not worry too much. I've got to hunt rats now, I haven't eaten for days.

Your dog, sorry * wink *, godfather,

Sirius."

Harry breathed out in relief. He put the letter in his bag.

"Whoa! Thank God for that! Sirius told me to relax and not worry too much about those letters. Hey Ron, have I told you that I've gotten another one this morning? I found it on the floor."

"W-w-what?" Ron stammered. _This can't be happening. What is going on?_

_****_

Draco was walking out of the Slytherin room when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. He recognised it as Fleur's. Draco walked faster, pretending to not hear her.

"Draco! Draco amour! I'm 'ere! I 'ave been waiting for you!"

Draco walked even faster. That Fleur girl has been stalking him lately and that had begun to irk him much. He admitted that she was gorgeous, someone who was in par with him in the looks department but he was just plain uninterested. He's already in love with someone else, and he's now off to find that person.

"Draco! Wait!" Fleur ran and caught up with him. She took his hand and stopped him.

Draco sighed loudly.

"What now, Fleur? I'm busy at the moment."

Fleur pouted.

"Oh Draco, I 'ave been waiting for you outside since yesterday. I want to see you, I cannot sleep without seeing your 'andsome face."

Draco became restless. He brushed his long blond hair out of his eyes.

"Excusè moi for staring, but you have such beautiful eyes, Draco. You are so 'andsome. You look just like me."

"Then go and date yourself." Draco muttered under his breath.

Fleur stared adoringly at Draco's face. She was just about to stroke his face when Draco uttered an incantation.

Fleur gasped when the object of her affection suddenly disappeared.

****

"Potter."

Harry was busy cleaning his Firebolt when he heard his name being called. He looked up and saw Draco striding across the Quiddich field.

"Potter. So you are here. I've been searching for you for quite awhile."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"What for? So you can tease me and taunt me some more?"

Draco gave a slow smile.

"Why would I do that when all I want to do is ** this**."

Draco bent down to Harry and suddenly kissed him. Harry dropped his broom cleaning kit, and he just sat there, stunned.

"Potter, I've been dreaming of this moment for ages."

Harry's heart was kicking hard in his ribcage. Harry was still quiet when he suddenly took a deep breath and pulled Draco close to him, kissing him passionately. His lips were so soft and tasted so sweet.

"So do I, Malfoy. So do I."

Draco loosened his tie. He looked deeply into Harry's eyes, his blond hair glistening in the sun. Harry ran his fingers into Draco's long hair. It was so soft and it smelled so nice. Both of them were silently ravishing this moment when Draco spoke.

"Harry.."

_He called me Harry!_ Harry thought thrilled.

"Harry!"

Harry woke up with a start.

"Draco?"

"Draco? What are you talking about? This is me, Cho"

Harry turned red. _Oh, it was just a dream. Thank God it was so. _He looked up and saw Cho Chang looking at him with a wide grin.

"Oh." He blushed deeply. "Sorry, I just had this dream...Oh, Forget about it. It was nothing." He adjusted his spectacles and looked around. He saw that he was in the library.

Cho smiled and a tiny dimple in her left cheek appeared, making her look more adorable than ever.

"Sorry to bother you, Harry. But you were actually, uh, snoring too loud. I had to wake you up as you were disturbing other students."

Harry was dismayed. "Oh really sorry for that, I didn't sleep well last night. I had uh, some personal problems."

Cho grinned. She shook her head slowly and flipped her long, straight hair off her shoulders.

"Doesn't matter Harry. I understand." She then took a good look at the book Harry was reading before he fell asleep.

"Oneirocritica by Artemidorous. Dream interpretation, Harry? You a fan of divination?"

Harry shook his head. _How ironic that he was reading this book when he had that weird dream_. "Nah, just reading it for, um, this project I had for my, uh, Divination class."

Cho, who was still grinning, gave a brief nod to Harry.

"That's great. Well, got to go now. Got a prefects' meeting to attend. By the way Harry, I like the way you looked when you were sleeping. You were so cute. But it's not that you don't look cute now, I like you in every way you are in."

She then walked away leaving Harry to grin sheepishly at his crush. He was still blushing and grinning like an idiot when he continued reading his book.

_Reading too much of this book has seriously fried my brain. But why was I even reading it? And why was I even here in the first place? _

Then he remembered. He went there to search for Hermione and apologise to her for his insolent behaviour yesterday. He couldn't find her and decided to find a book that could explain the dream that he had of the girl. _Great, now he had two weird dreams to interpret._

He opened the book and started to read it.

_Hmm..._

****

The room was really quiet and dark. All eyes were fixed upon the newly arrived wizard. The wizard stepped into the light and all of the Death Eaters gave a loud gasp. He moved to Voldermort and kissed the hem of his robes.

"Master...Master...I'm back."

Voldermort gave a curt smile. He quietly welcomed the Death Eater back.

"My dear Death Eaters. It seems that my faithful servant here wasn't who he seemed to be. **This**, my followers, is actually Morgana Mclair, the Death Eater who was killed by Aurors, fourteen years ago. But she came back, yes she came back to serve me, reincarnated as a Hogwarts student."

The faces of the Death Eaters showed total shock especially on the face of Peter Pettigrew.

Morgana spoke.

"Master, I've got good news. The muggle friend of Harry Potter was captured and time will only tell when Potter himself would fall into my trap."

Voldermort gave a cruel smile.

"The mudblood? I hope you have tortured her enough. She deserved it after what her friend did to me."

Morgana nodded. "Yes my sire, I haven't given her any food or drink for the past two days and I've gagged her eyes and body."

Satisfaction filled Voldemort's face. "Good enough. Maybe when that Potter boy was captured, you could give him and that mudblood the crucio curse. Make sure they suffered greatly, but never let him die, for his services is still needed."

Morgana bowed upon Volvemort's legs. "As you wish, my Lord." She then stepped back quietly before disappearing into the darkness.

****

"Parvati! Parvati!" Ron chased the beautiful Indian girl into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Parvati Patil stopped and turned. "Yes, Ron? Anything wrong?"

Ron paused to gasp for breath when he continued. "Have you seen Hermione today?"

Parvatil frowned. "You know what, I haven't seen her for awhile. She wasn't even in her bed yesterday. What's up with her?"

"Wasn't she with you yesterday at McGonagal's office? Lee told me he saw you talking with her." Ron looked worried.

"Oh, that wasn't Hermione. That was in fact, Lana Brown, Lavender's younger sister. She had the same bushy brown hair as Hermione's. I guess that's the reason why Lee got confused." Parvati paused. "Hey, Lavender told me you have been searching for Hermione since yesterday's Charm class. What's going on? Has she disappeared? Did something bad happened to her?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't know Parvati." He gave a loud sigh. "All I hope for is that she's okay."

*****


End file.
